About William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare (1564–1616), English poet and dramatist of the Elizabethan and early Jacobean period, is the most widely known author in all of English literature and often considered the greatest. He was an active member of a theater company for at least twenty years, during which time he wrote many great plays. Plays were not prized as literature at the time and Shakespeare was not widely read until the middle of the eighteenth century, when a great upsurge of interest in his works began that continues today.
About Richard Burton
Richard
Burton (1925–1984), born in Wales, was a renowned, award-winning actor of stage
and screen. He was one of the great British actors of the post-WWII period and
at one time the highest-paid actor in Hollywood. He won a BAFTA, two Golden
Globe Awards, and two Tony Awards for Best Actor. He was nominated seven times
for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role, but without
ever winning. His awards include a 1975 Grammy Award for Best Children’s
Recording, for The Little Prince. He
also narrated Jeff Wayne’s musical version of The War of the Worlds, his performance becoming a necessary part of
the concept album. Widely admired for his command and understanding of English
poetry, he insisted that his way out of an impoverished Welsh childhood was due
not to acting but to books; he read one a day and was an avid fan of
Shakespeare. Although he is widely known for his Tony Award-winning role playing
King Arthur in the original production of Lerner and Loewe’s Broadway musical Camelot, he also won a reputation as the
best Hamlet of his generation.